Startup Life

I have been reading the new book by Brad Feld and Amy Batchelor on Startup Life -surviving and thriving in a relationship with an entrepreneur. I think Brad and Amy bring a level of conversation that I have not read in a self help or relationship help book. This is one of the must have book as a reference if you are an Entrepreneur or a Startup Founder or working in a Startup. It has many strategies, stories, sacrifices and simple advice on making things work while everything around the entrepreneur is moving at a crazy pace. I have been enjoying the book. I would recommend everyone to read this book. The contents of the book are not just for Entrepreneurs it is for anyone wanting to having a lifelong relationship with a person whom they love, respect and admire. Here are some excerpts from the book:

In a relationship with a hyperrational engineer type of entrepreneur, it can be maddening to have him try to solve your problem or figure out what has caused you to be angry. This is especially vexing when the gender dynamic around solving a problem versus providing empathy is tossed into the mix. Try to recognize when this is going on and shift into empathy mode to calm the savage beast, rather than problem-solving mode, which will likely inflame things.

Which couple has not encountered this before? and how many times have you asked yourself after a blow up what happened? what did I do? I have and I constantly try to remind myself that my wife cannot read my mind and I don’t have to solve all problems. When Brad is visiting Iceland this June we plan to have a small event – a dinner with a group of Entrepreneurs and their significant other. If you want to participate you need to participate in Startup Iceland 2013. Given that we will have a small number of slots for this event, I would like to hear why you believe you need to be in that group. Write to me and we will pick who gets to go… sorry, cannot get everyone on board but everyone can get the book and read it and interact with Brad and Amy when they are here in Iceland the first week of June, how cool is that?